The Downside Ghosts Series Books 1-3: Unholy Ghosts, Unholy Magic, City of Ghosts. Stacia Kane

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СКАЧАТЬ small, spartan bedroom with its plain gray walls and watermarked ceiling had never looked so cold. New bedding, hell. She’d have to buy a new bed. She couldn’t imagine ever putting her own body where Brain’s had been.

      She cleared her throat, aware he was watching her but unwilling to acknowledge it. The tension she’d thought had disappeared curled around her, around both of them. What was he thinking?

      “I guess we should go, then,” she said finally. “Just let me, um, let me change, okay?”

      He nodded. “Whyn’t you use a different room. I’ll stay here with him.”

      “Thanks.” She opened her closet, gathering a dark red top and jeans, then crossed to her dresser. Feeling a little stupid, she turned her body so he wouldn’t see her adding clean pan ties and a bra to the pile in her arms, then folded the jeans over them.

      “Where’d you stay last night, anyways? Not here, aye, and not with Doyle, guessing.”

      “Um. No. I got a hotel room.” She glanced back, but he wasn’t looking at her. Instead his gaze was fixed out the narrow window.

      “Good idea. Hey. You know them people, live there?”

      “What people?”

      “Cross yon street. I see right in their place. This window awful small, so they probably ain’t see in here, but … how’s the other windows? The living room, say? You think anyone see in?”

      “Oh. I don’t know.”

      He edged to the side when she stepped near, letting her take over the window. Or maybe he just didn’t want to be so close to her.

      He was right about the view. She could see in the window across the street, if the curtains were open. She’d never really wondered if they could see into her room for the very reason he’d mentioned. The window was narrow, the wall thick, and she hardly spent time in here anyway except to sleep or dress. She never brought people here. Never men. Sometimes to the apartment itself, but in her bedroom … no.

      “I think I left the curtains open in the living room last night. They’re closed now.”

      “How about that big stained-glass window? Anybody see through that?”

      “I don’t think so.”

      “We ask anyway, cool? Been thinking about the blood on yon floor. When they break in? Only ain’t no blood in the hall or nothing. Only your place. Seems kinda odd, aye, no blood dripping. So I figure maybe they got a place near here they stay, send somebody over to clean up the hall, but ain’t bother with your place what ever reason? Maybe the blood some kind of magic, something like that? A warning?”

      Fuck. Why couldn’t he just be stupid, just once? Lex’s men must have wrapped the bodies in plastic or something.

      “It didn’t feel like a spell,” she said, choosing her words carefully. “Maybe someone interrupted them cleaning up.”

      “All the more reason to ask up, aye?”

      She nodded and glanced at him. He stood by the wall, almost pressed against it. “Listen, Chess …”

      Shit. “Hey, I should, um, apologize,” she said before he could continue. “I think I was pretty fucked up last night, I don’t really remember much of anything. Did I … did I act strange, when I saw you? I did see you, didn’t I?”

      His face didn’t move for a long moment. Then he looked down, shaking his head. “Naw. Naw, you was fine. Don’t worry none, aye?”

      “Thanks.”

      Silence stretched uncomfortably between them. Chess felt sticky, as if her deceit had turned into a thin layer of grime and covered her whole body. “I should get dressed,” she said.

      She pulled her shirt over her head, arranged it over her hips, and grabbed the phone. Time to call Elder Griffin, she guessed, waiting while the phone rang, hoping he would pick up his line himself.

      He didn’t. Randy Duncan did.

      “Chessie, how are you?”

      Her brow wrinkled. Why was he answering in Griffin’s office? “Fine, Randy, what’s up.”

      “I’ve been talking to Elder Griffin. About … about some of the strange stuff going on lately.”

      “Strange?”

      Pause. “You haven’t heard?”

      “No.”

      “Somebody broke into the building last night. Well, they didn’t break in, but they managed to get down to the platform and pull the fuses. The elevator, the train, everything was shut down. It even looked like they’d worked the City doors, tried to get in there. And I thought I … never mind.”

      “No, what? You thought you what?”

      “Have you seen anything odd lately? I mean … like a ghost, but a strong one?”

      She bit her lip. “No, why?”

      “I just, I heard about it, then I … Look, have you seen Doyle lately?”

      “Why?” It wasn’t original, but it would do.

      “I think something’s going on. With Doyle. I thought I saw him last night, around ten, running across the lawn. I think maybe somebody’s after him, Chessie. Somebody who wants to hurt him, maybe hurt all of us. I’m worried about him, you know? He seems really nervous lately. And I thought you might know why.”

      “Sorry, Randy. I don’t really talk to Doyle very much, you know.”

      She heard him breathing over the line for a second before he spoke. “Right. Okay, well, listen. If you do, or if you see him, could you tell him I’m looking for him? But don’t tell him why. I just want to help him, I mean, if we would all just be a little closer to one another, really band together, we could accomplish so much more. And I told Elder Griffin everything I know and he agrees.”

      Typical Randy. Next he’d be telling her love made the world go round. What a fucking sap he was.

      She rung off and sat down on the couch. So Randy had seen the thief, too. He hadn’t said so in as many words but that had to be what he meant. And he’d seen Doyle right around the time of her attack. Awfully damning.

      It should have been difficult to believe Doyle would do such a thing. It wasn’t. Doyle thought he was above everyone else, smarter and better-looking and more skilled. It was that arrogance that had attracted her to begin with, wasn’t it? The unconscious knowledge that he didn’t really give a shit about anyone but himself, wouldn’t put any pressure on her? Was it so strange to think someone so aggressively self-centered might get involved with Lamaru?

      If her life had taught her anything, it was that you never really knew what people had going on beneath the surface. People were shit. The only difference between them and animals was people felt the need to hide it.

      That was why she hadn’t quite bought СКАЧАТЬ